Great Gifts: Limited Edition Essence of Beauty Holiday Body & Hand Cream.

I love seasonal scents, and the fine fragrance collection essence of beauty has a few limited edition holiday scents that are perfect for the season. Featuring fine ingredients, whimsical packaging and three new luxurious timely scents, these beauties are pretty perfect for the holidays.

Limited Edition Essence of Beauty Holiday Body & Hand Cream

The seasonal scents:

Sugar Frosted Mint - Sparkling scent features top notes of iced peppermint and spearmint with mid notes of warm milk, jasmine and a touch of spice, and base notes of creamy coconut, vanilla bean and warm milk.

Vanilla Wishes - Comforting fragrance features top notes of red plum, spun sugar and pomegranate, mid notes of vanilla bean and sweet toffee, and base notes of sultry amber and coconut milk.

Snowy Apple - Enchanting scent features top note of apple, orange and pineapple mid notes of apple, florals and pear, and base notes of osmanthus, peach and sweet vanilla.

The ultra rich Body & Hand Cream restores moisture to skin as it conditions it with ingredients including revitalizing passion flower seed and rice bran oil, nourishing Vitamin A and E and soothing Aloe Vera. It's super soothing to my skin.

Look for the Holiday Body & Hand Cream exclusively at CVS/pharmacy now. They sell for $1.99 each or 3 for $4.98.

Winter Launches at CVS/pharmacy.

CVS/pharmacy has a slew of new launches this winter. These beauties are some of the latest in drugstore beauty, period. You will find all of these at CVS/pharmacy in January and February. Of course I am very smitten with the new makeup. I can't wait to play with them more and see all the different shades that are offered.

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Some of the noteable new products include:

Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream

Maybelline New York Volum' Express The Rocket Mascara

Revlon Photoready BB Cream

L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche New Essentials Eye Shadow

COVERGIRL Lip Perfection Jumbo Gloss Balm

Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede Lipcolor

Revlon Nail Art

Olay Fresh Effects Powdered Va-Va-Vivid Contour Cleansing System

Olay Total Effects Moisturizer & Serum Duo

Organix Thick & Full Biotin & Collagen Shampoo & Conditioner

Dermasilk 1 Minute Collagen Lift

Nuance Salma Hayek Super Brightening Hand Cream

Neutrogena Naturals Acne Foaming Scrub

Clearasil On-The-Go Rapid Action Wipes

Hand Perfection Anti-Aging Skin Care

Splat Hair Chalk

I always wondered why some CVS beauty depratments and small versus some that are large and have a lot of limited items. I had a chance to ask an executive at CVS a few questions to explain to me how they selct which products are sold in CVS stores, and why the product selection differs.

New beauty products are always emerging. How does CVS select which new products will be sold at its stores?

Eighty percent of our customers are women and we're committed to serving their needs by creating the best possible beauty shopping experience.  We make it our mission to understand our customers by listening to their feedback and using it to inform our beauty offerings.  Through the long-standing ExtraCare loyalty program, we have incredible insight into beauty shopping behaviors of more than 70 million active members (13 million of whom are Beauty Club members as well).  From store design to personalized coupons, ExtraCare insights helps us serve our customers better, down to what products make it on the shelves in our stores.

For example, advanced skincare technology is a big draw for shoppers – the #1 selling beauty product last year was Olay Regenerist Micro-sculpting Cream – and we also saw a 40% increase in nail sales last year. Based on these insights, you’ll continue to see new products in these fast-growing categories on our shelves in the year to come.

In addition, our expert team of buyers stay on top of the latest trends and advancements in the beauty industry to make sure we always offer the most innovative and advanced beauty products available.

From time to time, CVS/pharmacy will see an un-tapped segment in the market or advancing trends and work to develop our own exclusive lines to bridge the gap. For example, in 2006, we launched the Essence of Beauty bath and body product line to deliver a complete, quality body care collection for 40% less than similar products on the market.  Similarly, in 2012 we partnered with Salma Hayek to create the Nuance Salma Hayek line, making premium beauty accessible to all women.

Do some stores get different new beauty products than others? Why?

We are focusing on personalizing the shopping experience for each customer in order to best serve her individual needs.  From the type of offers she receives through our ExtraCare Savings and Rewards program down to the merchandise available in store, we recognize that the best shopping experience is never one size fits all.  Our merchandising mix, including our beauty offering, is determined based on what customers in that specific store location are looking for from us.  This means that the assortment will vary based on where the store is located and on customer shopping habits as well.

Nail It at CVS/pharmacy Nail HQ™.

It's a fact. Women are obsessed with their nails. CVS/pharmacy says that nail sales are booming. That's why they are making more room in their stores just for all the great nail innovations that us women want.

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The new Nail HQ™ is now in more than 2,000 locations! This little section of the store, in mine at least, is right at the end of the cosmetics section and cannot be missed. The cube like Nail HQ™ department offers access to drugstore firsts like the new gel nail technology from Sally Hansen and SensatioNail, and trend-setting launches from brands like essie and Nuance Salma Hayek. It is super convenient and always affordable.

I, for one, love that my favorite polishes are local and easily accessible. Check out a few of my favorites from essie, COVERGIRL, L'Oreal Paris, Sally Hansen, NUANCE and Revlon.

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Of course I had to create a little holiday manicure myself. I used COVERGIRL Nail Gloss in Forever Festive with NUANCE Salma Hayek Nail Lacquer in Goldstone on one nail as an accent.

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To keep up with the latest, be sure to follow @CVSBeautyClub on Twitter and CVS Beauty Club on Facebook.